The Lady and the President: Prologue to the Whitehouse
by JustAnotherNinetiesBitch
Summary: Pre-series. How Josiah Bartlet became the 'Leader of the Free World', and Abbey became the leader of his...
1. Colpo di Fulmine

_"Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can't be denied. It's beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there's no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed."_ ― **J.M. Darhower** , **Sempre**

* * *

 **November 1960 - Indiana, Notre Dame University Campus Library**

 _"_ _Thou shall not be tempted. Thou shall not be tried. Thou shall not suffer. Thou shall not be overcome."_

Jed Bartlet strictly murmured to himself, one of the many Catholic proverbs his faith adhered to. Much to his fathers Protestant distaste, Jed had shown a clear preference for the Catholic faith his Irish mother had raised him in and, while his initial belief had been born out of a respect for her, Jed quickly found that he followed the doctrine with an individual intensity. To that end, Jed had accepted that his destiny lay with the church. It was to be the first decision he had ever made in the unadulterated trance of adulthood and he had never dared to question it, until _she_ entered his hemisphere.

"Hey babe, so sorry I couldn't be here earlier. You wouldn't believe the queues in the mess for lunch."

The brunette plopped herself in the chair beside him and planted a tender kiss upon his cheek, which instantly flamed with objection at the most intimate contact he had received from a member of the opposite sex. A male student surveyed the scene and scoffed loudly with amusement, "Abbey?" If she seriously expected him to fall for such an immature ruse, she had severely underestimated him.

"What?" Nonchalance seeped from her tone, if not her cool expression.

A bystander in the matter at hand, Jed observed the interaction with a pinch of confusion. "Abbey, Jane and I are old friends."

"Well, it really doesn't matter either way, Alan, because you and I are not an item. Remember?" She dismissively refused to share eye contact with her paramour and positioned a selection of medical journals on the table, which scattered across the open book Jed had attempted to invest his afternoon in. "Now if you wouldn't mind, we are in the middle of a study date." He wasn't certain why but Jed forced a smile when looked to for affirmation of the implication made by Abbey's hand balanced on the curve of his left shoulder. Thrown by her curveball, Alan retreated and Jed was mildly disappointed when she removed her hand in unison. "Jerk." She flared under her breath. The second she witnessed the unease with which Jed shuffled, the reality of the situation hit her and Abbey bowed her head, in the hopes that her heated checks would fall unnoticed by the perfect stranger she had invaded with her petty dramatics. "Sorry about that."

"No need to be sorry." Jed raised both hands upward, in a show of indifference but his quickened heartbeat proclaimed otherwise.

She tousled her curls, which ran like a waterfall of autumn beyond her ample bust. Except, it was not her feminine shape that Jed explored with vivid admiration but the almond eyes that had flamed with fury mere moments beforehand. "The Freedom of the Will."

"Pardon me?" Jed stammered.

Abbey picked up the book Jed had lost all interest in and paused with a smirk, aware of his reverence. "Jonathan Edwards." She skimmed the book, with no particular interest in the topic at hand, but her interest in her fellow student had peaked. "What do you major in?"

"Philosophy and theology. It's a joint major." He informed her matter-of-factly, his manner oh-so-preppy that Jed inwardly kicked himself for it. "I hope to become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church." He added, only for the statement to have him appear all the more wasp-like. It simply appeared that, no matter how hard he tried, the upper-class education Jed had received only increased his aloofness.

She inspected him, with an ounce of cynicism. "Shame. You're pretty cute." She snapped the book shut and playfully smiled, when his blue eyes widened underneath a collection of thick lashes that rivalled her own. His naivety warmed her heart. There were very few men who blushed at such a compliment. "Abigail Barrington." She stretched her plain-manicured hand forward, by means of a formal introduction. "But my friends call me Abbey. I study biology and biochemistry at Saint Mary's."

"Josiah Bartlet." He politely accepted her hand, her skin of soft, so supple. "Jed."

Abbey maintained eye contact, while her hand hesitated to release from his touch. The look she shone at him was that of a lioness, as it circled the prey it had stalked for quite some time. "Well, Jed, thank you very much for your help. Sorry I disturbed you." She started to repack her materials into the shoulder-bag she had absent-mindedly dumped between their feet, until she detected that the library bustled with students and tables were very limited in availability. In fact, the table Jed acquired was one of the only free spaces within her line of vision. It was no wonder; the males-only university campus was provided with a library far better equipped than its sister institute. "Would you mind terribly if I stayed here and studied for the next hour?"

Her hopeful expression caused extreme discomfort for Jed, who unearthed the realisation that he found it impossible to deny the woman he had known all of five minutes, if that. Any God he worshipped had been obliterated from his mind. "No, please… feel free." He stood to attention, and motioned for her to sit.

"You're a doll."

The dimple-like folds between his eyebrows deepened, in expression of hilarity at her compliment. He discretely watched, as Abbey opened her own book to reveal a craze of colour had accentuated for notation. The pace with which she browsed each sentence astounded him, and she had completed a chapter within a few minutes. He instantly attained a heavy respect for her intellect and ambition. She was a model of the second-wave feminism that had recently surfaced within the country and it suited her well. Jed and Abbey remained studious and limited conversation, in order to retain full attention to their respective work. Still, Jed shyly marvelled at the woman that had captured every aspect of his mind, body and soul, from an introduction no less. Each peek over the rim of his book did not escape Abbey, as she scribbled a bunch of handwritten notes to paper and pondered the kind of man who voluntarily surrendered his life to God.

Hours rolled by in silence and the library emptied, but for a few senior staff, before Abbey succumbed to the late hour exhaustion and prepared to return to her dorm. "I didn't realise priests were required to be so studious," she verbally prodded Jed. Startled by how much time had passed, Jed flashed a meek smile at Abbey. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Jed Bartlet."

He quickly shoved his books away and rose to his feet, "It's pretty dark out. Let me walk you back to your dorm."

If any female was un-damsel like, it was Abbey but she smiled at his sincere kindness and accepted the offer. "Thank you." A seasonal chill in the air embraced them, as they exited the library, and Jed instinctively removed his coat, which he wrapped around her shoulders instead. Reluctant to deprive him, Abbey quipped, "You don't feel the cold?"

Jed shyly shook his head, "This is like summer in New Hampshire."

They walked in the direction of the female residential campus, side-by-side for several minutes before Abbey posed her question. "I hope you don't think me too forward but I have to ask; clerical celibacy?" The question sounded as abrupt as she feared it would. Jed clamped his mouth shut, before it could drop open, in dismay. "You said you planned to become a priest," she reminded him. His head nodded, in confirmation, and she followed-up her previous question. "That must mean no sexual relations of any kind."

Jed pondered how exactly to respond. "Well, yes." He nervously adjusted the coke-bottle spectacles that framed his eyes.

"And you're content not to be married, or have children… you plan to devote your life to God." Jed nodded. That was exactly what he planned, for quite some time. Yet, to hear the words from another set of lips, especially ones so kissable, he wondered why on earth he had. "Hmm…" Even as a Catholic herself, Abbey failed to comprehend the motivation but likened it to her own decision to attain a formal education. Far from most women, Abbey had refused to marry and play out her days as the humble housewife, neither would her parents have demanded as such from her. To have her own career was a staple in the future Abbey outlined for herself.

"I believe I have a perspective unlike any other that I could offer the church." Jed attempted to explain the decision. He disliked how obvious it sounded that her probe had caused him to rethink his entire life plan. No woman had ever affected him quite like it.

"Well, I don't envy you. A lifetime of abstinence…" Abbey contemplated his future and the God-honest boredom that would consume him. "But I suppose you're destined to find fulfilment elsewhere." Before he could respond, Abbey returned his coat and retrieved a set of keys from her own pocket. "This is my dorm." Jed was visibly baffled by the entire conversation. "I hope I see you around." With that, Abbey softly kissed his cheek for the second time and departed his world as quickly as she had entered. He momentarily wondered if her very existence had all been an outlandish daydream he had concocted. If not for his heated cheek, he would have believed so.

Little did he realise, Abbey Barrington was his very own thunderbolt.


	2. Mortal Danger

_"She is a mortal danger to all men. She is beautiful without knowing it, and possesses charms that she's not even aware of. She is like a trap set by nature - a sweet perfumed rose in whose petals Cupid lurks in ambush! Anyone who has seen her smile has known perfection. She instills grace in every common thing and divinity in every careless gesture."_ **― Edmond Rostand**

* * *

 **January 1961 - Indiana, World War Memorial Plaza**

The three months that ensued their first introduction proceeded to be what Jed could only have described as hell on earth. The pure friendship had flourished into a deep attraction and the subsequent internal conflict proved to be a hurdle Jed found problematic. While he and Abbey had maintained a platonic decorum, they were all but inseparable.

"Did you know that the architecture was inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus?"

"One of the seven wonders of the world." Abbey added, in confirmation, as she and Jed wandered around the obelisk build that paid tribute to the veterans. A shared enjoyment of American culture and history acted as one of many bonds between them and Abbey often looked forward to their monthly culture expedition. If not, Jed and Abbey would have withered away in the library for the remainder of their student lives and been perfectly content to do so. "Jed," she paused, briefly, at one of the park benches dotted around the terrain. He ordinarily savoured any opportunity to educate Abbey and measure her expertise but his mannerisms hinted that his mind lay elsewhere. While he had always been absent-minded, Abbey suspected it was more than that. "Sit down." Hesitation rendered him addled, for a brief second, until Jed accepted the seat she patted beside her on the bench. "Your mind has been elsewhere all afternoon. Is it your father?" What little Jed had confided in Abbey relative to the Bartlet family had her troubled, more than she cared to admit. He hadn't explicitly stated it, and she was cautious to question him, but Abbey feared the relationship Jed shared with his father was riddled with abuse.

Jed swallowed, hard. "No." How he had so easily opened his heart and mind to Abbey, even in such private matters, was what concerned him. It was odd but, for once, his relationship with his father was the least of his concern. "Abbey, do you believe in divine intervention?"

Abbey contemplated the peculiar question. As a Catholic, she was expected to... but Abbey wasn't devout. "It depends on the situation. Why?"

He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead with his hand, and exhaled heavily. One-on-one conversations were not his forte. He could converse socially with five people at once and remember what was said, but intimate confession was much harder for him. The words were beyond his own comprehension, a cruel experience for someone as eloquent as Jed. "Abbey, I made a decision… I suppose you could call it a resolution, or even a revelation -" he diverted from the point but quickly backtracked. "And it concerns you, almost as much as it does myself."

She frowned, "Okay."

"Abbey, I decided to switch my major." When the words reached his own ears, Jed heard how lame it must have sounded. Her lack of response confirmed that the epiphany Jed had experienced left much to be desired. He was reminded of the advice his brother had provided him. Even at sixteen, Jonathan Bartlet was far more intuitive where it concerned the fairer sex. "You see, since the moment I met you, my whole world turned upside down." She forced him to question his entire existence. "What I had envisioned for my future suddenly didn't make the sense it once made and -" he paused, rarely so lost for words but accustomed to the effect Abbey had on him. "I realised that, as important as my faith has always been and always will be, I cannot devote my life to the church. That priesthood, perhaps, isn't the true call I believed was inside of me since my mother introduced me to the faith." Private discussion with his mother and her assurance that her pride would not dwindle a fraction if he should divert from Catholicism had directed Jed to the same conclusion. Even his father had expressed approval, when Jed hinted at possible re-evaluation of his future. "So, I decided to transfer my major to American Studies and minor in Theology. I already discussed the matter with my professors and they're confident someone with my ability won't be held back a year."

She contemplated her reaction before she produced one. "Well, that's wonderful. I'm very happy for you, Jed, but I don't quite see how your major would affect me." In her heart of hearts, Abbey subconsciously fathomed what Jed had hinted at. She was determined, however, that he be the one to say it.

"Of course it affects you, Abbey." Jed replied, rather bluntly. She raised her eyebrow at how abrasive he became in public. "As a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, clerical celibacy is demanded. You said so yourself, the day we met!" They had shared many-a-debate on why faith should or should not dictate the bond so personal between husband and wife; Jed declined to understand why Abbey would behave quite so densely. Unless, the chemistry between them had been an illusion of his own creation. After all, he wasn't anywhere near as sophisticated in matters of the heart. Abbey had endured a break-up with her boyfriend, Ron, mere weeks before she started at Saint Mary's. On the other hand, women were an alien breed to Jed. He had never even had a childhood sweetheart.

"Jed, I'm afraid I don't understand -"

"I'm free to marry you, Abbey! Without the priesthood, I am free to marry whomever I choose."

"And they say chivalry is dead." Her musical tone was filled with sarcasm. At best, she had assumed Jed would confess the self-evident crush he had involuntarily developed but it seemed cupid had a different scenario in mind.

Displeased with the sudden turn the conversation had barrelled around, not unlike the prelude to a car wreck, Jed rose to his feet and paced back and forth a couple laps. "Abbey, if you would just hear me out -" The romantic conversation he pictured had slid way off-track.

"Who said I wanted to marry you, anyway?" The inner feminist revolted within Abbey and she bit back with an attack far worse than her bark. In all the late hours of their library confessional, Abbey had disclosed how important it was that she build the foundation for her medical career before she weave her way into any kind of commitment. Members of the opposite sex rarely understand why Abbey strived so hard for such a tall ambition but Jed was different, or at least she had been convinced he was.

"Abigail." The strict tone with which Jed addressed her sounded like that of her father and Abbey bristled at the use of her full name. "Try not to be so petulant." Jed scolded her behaviour and Abbey childishly mimicked him. In actuality, she was nowhere near as offended as she appeared. He dutifully composed himself and levelled his voice off, "What I meant to say was that I made a very important decision… and that I happen to like you, an awful lot in fact." With the words finally spoken, the mountain had been lifted from his shoulders and Jed held his baited breath for a reciprocative comment that never came.

"Thank you."

A moment or so passed, with Jed uncertain he had heard her correctly. His blank expression quickly reversed into one of intense acrimony. " _Thank you_. Is that all you have to say to me?" Offended by her off-hand reply, Jed was on the cusp of explosion. The power Abbey possessed infuriated him, the lack of control he had over his own emotion bothered him to no end. Worst of all, she feigned oblivion. Whenever she wore her favourite sweater than enhanced her bust, or the essence of perfume at the nape of her neck, and, especially, when she arrived at the library with her hair freshly washed, not yet dried. He almost drowned in the sensual atmosphere of her very presence. She all but consumed him, yet she continued on with life as if it were normal. He confessed the lust he had clamoured to suppress and she offered a mere 'thank you' in return.

"No." Her voice and its tone so basic reeled him back into the world.

"What?" Jed snapped.

Calmly, Abbey rose to her feet and looked him square in the eye. "I said, no, that isn't all I have to say." She paused, in preparation for him to fly further off the handle but all he could do was breath heavily with apprehension. "I like you, too." The seconds passed by, and Abbey became the one who awaited a response to the words Jed had seemed desperate to hear. "Jed, did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off, in the kind of voice that caused Abbey to wonder if he was fully lucid.

A small smile flashed upon her lips and Abbey softened, "Jed." He hummed in reply. Apparently, his brother had been correct in the assumption that Jed was incredibly obtuse in business of relationships. Her testimonial that she, too, identified the attraction that had whipped Jed into a frenzy found him remarkably subdued. Abbey retained her smirk, "I said, I like you too, Jethro." Evidently distracted, Jed failed to deliver the rejoinder of - "Don't call me that." - in reference to the pet name she mercilessly teased him with. "Would you like to kiss me now?" His blue eyes became electrified, with an intensity that stimulated Abbey. He finally rewarded her patience when he slowly, but surely, inched toward her and caressed her lips with his own. Her kiss was as divine as Jed had ever envisioned it would be.


	3. Absolution

_"But when a woman decides to sleep with a man, there is no wall she will not scale, no fortress she will not destroy, no moral consideration she will not ignore at its very root: there is no God worth worrying about."_ ― **Gabriel García Márquez**

* * *

 **September 1962 - Indiana, Notre Dame University Campus Library**

"Hey, boyfriend."

Abbey breezed into the library in her characteristic multi-task mode and an aroma of coffee from the lukewarm cup she held in her left hand, the other protectively coiled around the books she had snatched from the shelves before any of her fellow classmates could steal them. She pecked him on the cheek and set down her study materials, with the intention of essay completion before the weekend arrived. It was the start of her final year and Abbey was steadfast that she would make it count.

In the midst of a daydream, Jed paid little attention to her arrival but ascertained that other male students present certainly had. Given how well the mustard yellow halter-neck dress Abbey donned suited her, it was obvious why. He was left stupefied. Of course, Jed had known better than to question her attire but the way in which others started to drool over Abbey irked him. "Abbey."

"What's up?" She bit into the red apple she had plucked from the fruit basket on her way out of her dorm earlier.

The v-neckline amplified her bosom and petite waist, and his mouth watered at her divine shape. Since he and Abbey had become an item, Jed had censored all impurity that threatened to conquer his psyche. Out of respect for the faith they had both been raised in, Jed and Abbey had not descended into sexual abandon simply because Jed had decided not to become a priest. In fact, intimate contact had not once extended beyond the most passionate of kisses, but Abbey's sensuality had driven him wild. Cold showers were a frequent, for Jed. Physical intimacy prior to the vows articulated before the eyes of God was still considered a sin and he refused to deceive the faith he so earnestly respect. The only problem was that Jed feared Abbey had trickled into boredom with him.

"Hello. Earth to Jed," she waved her hand inches in front of his tormented expression. His line of vision aimed at the table of male students less than 30 feet away from their table suddenly broken. Abbey internally lamented the juvenile behaviour that she had often been confronted with, as they peered in her direction with evident appreciation. She reached forward and tenderly kissed Jed's lips.

"Abbey." Jed abruptly leaned backward, as if she had burned him.

"What's the matter?"

He answered her pretence of confusion with, "I have a class in 10 minutes." Without another word, Jed retrieved his belongings and bolted from the library. Bewildered by his reaction, Abbey's forehead creased in the shape of a contemplative frown. Her roommate, Carol, had warned her that Jed would reach the end of his tether. It was inevitable, apparently. They had been romantically involved for over a year and were at the dawn of the third and final year of their alma mater; she and Jed had openly discussed sexual relations and whether or not it was important to save such an act of devotion until matrimony. He had been unable to suspend his abhorrence that Abbey was not quite as sexually inexperienced as he had believed. An explanation that her previous beau, Ron, had been a friend of the family for several years and that they were romantically involved for three months before physicality even entered their minds did little to ease him. The fact that Abbey had even been in a relationship with a man other than him riled Jed.

After an hour of absent-minded study, Abbey formed a devious plan in her head and swiftly exited the library in the direction of her dorm. Swift improvisation at the eleventh hour and the reluctant consent from Carol, who Abbey convinced to attend a campus social, left Abbey alone to transform their common room into a semi-romantic domain. An array of fruity scented candles rescued the room from absolute blackness and the stellar voice of Frank Sinatra played softly on the stereo. The stereo had been a reward from her parents in celebration of her exceptional S.A.T. results. She double-checked the time on the wall-clock and prepared for Jed's arrival. Under the ruse that she had fallen and fractured a bone in her arm, a bevy of medical terms delivered effortlessly by the auspiciously theatrical Carol quite evidently stirred him into a fever and Jed had promised to be there as soon as physically possible. As she predicted, Jed barely bothered to knock before he burst in the door and discovered what lay in wait for him. "Abbey, are you -"

His concern rotated into resentment that he had been manipulated, and so easily, too. Abbey clasped her hands, "Don't fly off the handle." A plea that, thankfully, didn't fall on deaf ears, while she softly continued. "I knew that if I invited you myself, you would have refused." He pouted his lips, perplexed at how well she understood him, while she remained an infinite mystery.

"Abbey, I have a class tomorrow and a paper due the next day -"

"I love you, Jed." It wasn't the first time she had declared her love for him, yet every time she did, it ensnared his heart like a deer trap. "I don't know how many other ways I can say it. But all I can do is say it, because you won't let me show you." Abbey pinpointed the heart of the matter between them with such informality that it caused Jed to drop his head, belittled. "You are one of the most prudish men I have ever met, and that includes your father and mine. It's the sixties for Christ sake." So much for the sexual revolution. "Women were born to be more than the little woman, neatly tucked away and ready to bake you a homemade pie. We have ambition, we have dreams and we have sexual desire like any other species on the planet." As her rant escalated, her voice elevated several decibels and, if not for the fear that he would rile her further, Jed would have warned Abbey to lower her voice, careful not to alert students in the nearby dorm. He was startled by the impromptu uproar and a mass of blood rushed to his cheeks but quickly drained away in the form of mixed emotion. "Well, you know what, I don't think it's any secret that I am not the virgin Mary, Jed. You have known that about me since the moment we met." Repeatedly, she had needled him with tales of her impurity, which were more often than not loose fabrications of the truth, and every time Jed had blushed with mortification. She softened her voice and wandered toward him, still in the yellow halter-neck that left so little to the imagination. "Let me make love to you, Jed." The seductive whisper delivered from her plump lips, inches from his ear threw Jed into a cascade of sexual arousal.

Nerve after nerve in his body convulsed, as she suckled his bottom lip hard. She tasted so exotic. It was a kiss unlike any other they had shared. Abbey escorted his hands to her waist and started to strip his buttoned shirt from the top down. She lowered her head and caressed his torso with her mouth, thirsty to explore his body with abandon. "Abbey." Jed whimpered. Ceased in motion, Abbey returned to eye-level and flashed a shrewd smile that stimulated him. There was no doubt, in her mind, that Jed would surrender and he pondered why he had pursued every effort to circumvent what he desired most of all.

The spontaneity of the moment intensified his senses and his body throbbed, electrified by her very touch. He ached, he pined for the woman he loved. The only woman he had ever loved, or ever hoped to love in his lifetime. His lust for her did very little to satiate her passion. It was an odd sensation to be the sexually sophisticated partner in the relationship but Abbey relished the dominant position. "Jed…"

Weak to the knees, nearly to hers, Jed allowed Abbey to reel him closer and closer toward the privacy of her bedroom. "I want you."

The three words Abbey had craved trembled from his lips and were barely audible above a whisper but they had finally been spoken aloud. Ample reward for his bravery would soon be administered. "I'm all yours, baby." It had required reams of restraint but Abbey had been patient, tolerant and respectful of his adherence to the Catholic faith, and her endurance had paid off.


	4. When Temporary Madness Becomes Eternal

_"When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is."_ ― **Louis de Bernières**

* * *

 **March 1963 - New York, Waldorf Astoria Hotel**

The subsequent months bypassed in a hazy blur for both Jed and Abbey, as they completed their respective qualifications. Their relationship had held firm with endurance, in spite of the hot-tempered and sullen moods each suffered; a result of the immense stress only a fellow student could have understood. Yet, with the final few months in approach, Jed and Abbey had been forced to contemplate their future - individual, and otherwise - and it had caused a definitive rift between them. Beseeched by his favoured professor at Notre Dame, Jed applied to achieve further qualification in the form of an M.A. and eventual PhD at the London School of Economics. He had done so, with little consideration for what stead it left Abbey in.

"You look beautiful in that dress."

Abbey smiled, weakly, in appreciation of the repeated compliment. "Thank you for a wonderful weekend." In celebration of a belated Valentine and her 21st birthday, Jed had whisked her away to New York. After months of intensive work, the respite was zealously accepted but the question of whether Jed had the intention to pursue a future halfway across the world had cast a pall over the occasion.

"I decided to accept the school's offer, Abbey." It was the confirmation Abbey had awaited but she harboured resentment at the fact that Jed had not even the decency to look her in the eye when he delivered the blow. He despised himself for that, too. He simply hated to disappoint her.

"I understand." She promptly replied. And she did, partially. It was his ambition and the school was world-renowned. It made perfect sense that he apply for the opportunity and Abbey held a sense of pride that Jed had been awarded an unconditional offer of acceptance. His intellect surpassed even hers, which she denied publicly in jest but happily admitted to him. Besides, Jed had shown her no less than benevolence in his promise to honour her values, especially the importance that she reach her own aspired career in medicine. He deserved a similar curtesy, Abbey wouldn't deny him that.

"This doesn't mean I don't love you, Abbey." Reassurance oozed in every word, if not for her sake but his own. The internal conflict had been far too much for him to bear and he had even pondered whether his decision to apply for a school that would divide them so had been his subconscious need to restore some of the power she held over him.

Abbey dutifully nodded her head, "I know that. I love you, too."

Her answers were what he needed to hear but Jed was unconvinced. "This is an incredible opportunity, Abbey, I would be a fool -"

"There's no need to justify yourself or your decision, least of all to me, Jed." She dismissively interrupted him and retreated into the en-suite, as she peeled the rust-coloured silk dress from her skin. The look of love had filled his eyes when she first appeared in it. She almost lulled herself into a false sense of security that all was well with their world. Like the entire weekend, dinner had been shrouded in small talk. She could hardly nibble at her overpriced entree as Jed merrily conversed the historical patron Saint Valentine and why it was celebrated, before he contemplated the economic profit accrued by the commercial industry. The tedious conversation did little to soothe her uneasy stomach and Abbey forecasted a further hurricane loomed ahead, when Jed barrelled into the en-suite in her wake.

"Okay, let's hear it." Jed firmly planted one hand on the open door and witnessed her lips into her robe. He fixed his eyes solely on hers, in wild refusal to be distracted from the matter at hand. "I want you to say whatever it is that you need to say and I want you to say it now." Bar her initial reaction, Abbey had behaved uncharacteristically reserved and muted her own opinion, whenever Jed actively sought her counsel.

"Well, whatever the master demands, he shall receive." She spitefully sniped, as she collected her chestnut curse into a loose bun atop her head.

The accusatory tone with which she referred to him pained Jed. "Oh, that isn't fair." Emotional distance had been her preferred tactic, since Jed had merely informed her that he would consider the pursuit of a doctorate in London, and Abbey nonchalantly pursed her lips as she removed her make-up. His eyes pierced beyond the mirror she concentrated on. "I have supported you, in every decision." It was the truth. "I abandoned my plans of priesthood for you." Their relationship had been far from one-sided. His love for her had known no bounds and he would much rather have worshipped her than the God he believed in.

Abbey pivoted on her heels, "I never asked you to forgo your dream."

Jed consciously recoiled at the sudden outburst. He replied, baffled. "Nor would I ask the same of you."

Infuriated, Abbey shoved him backward and buried her head in her hands. "Oh, God. How is it, Jed, that someone with your mental capacity can be so incredibly inept?" His eyes fluttered, in confusion. "Harvard Medical School, Jed. Harvard. That has been my dream, since I was ten years old." Any hint that her eyes had started to water was quickly brushed away with the flick of her hand. "How do you expect our relationship to work, if you and I won't even be on the same continent?" When Jed fell backward, silent, Abbey's heart sank with devastation. She had prayed he would have found a miraculous solution. Truth be told, Abbey didn't think one even existed. "London is over 3,000 miles away, Jed." The very phenomenon of the problem Jed had introduced walloped Abbey hard. "I could defer medical school for a year or two, but five?" Two years for the M.A., another three for the PhD and, even then, the numbers weren't infallible. Should he require an extra year of study or decide to tackle an entirely different academia, Abbey would be at his mercy. It was a risk she had neither foreseen, nor prepared for. "To put my life on hold like that -" She had too much drive to simply press pause on the future she so desired. "I mean, in what lifetime would any woman pack up her entire life and move halfway across the world for a man she wasn't even married to?"

The wheels turned rapidly, Abbey sensed the words before he blurted them out. "So, marry me."

He could barely believe the request entered his mind, let alone the conversation. He wasn't even sure it had, until Abbey queried him. "What?" It was the most absurd of times to deliver such a proposal, if it could even be considered one at all.

"I want you in London, Abbey, I need you by my side." The way the words tumbled from him may have seemed like Jed had heavily contemplated the scenario but it had been an impulsive and instinctive decision on his part. A proposal had been in the back of his mind for a while but there had never been an appropriate moment. "Five years, Abbey, I know it sounds like forever but five years is all I ask." He reached for her and curled each hand around her shoulders to inflict momentum. "And, after that, I will follow you to the ends of the earth, I swear it." Seldom was Abbey rendered speechless but the whirlwind conversation had done exactly that, even more so, when Jed fell to his knees and swept her hands inside his for effect. "I mean it, Abbey. I want to marry you." He persisted, his confidence amplified with each second. "I have known it, deep down, since the moment I met you." A hearty chuckle filled the room but Jed quickly replaced his humour with a humbled expression, "Abbey, if you would say yes, it would make me the happiest man in the world." He patiently awaited indication of her response and his body shuffled, his knees in discomfort on the hard tiled floor.

Her response echoed within the tiny en-suite, "No."

Devastation shrouded him and Jed vaulted to his feet. The rapid movement alarmed Abbey and she surveyed the crushed look in his eyes with sheer remorse. "Jed -" Abbey raised one hand to her mouth. He dejectedly wandered out of the en-suite and peered out over the Hudson River that floated beneath their hotel window. Abbey followed him, "I can't marry you, Jed. Not yet." She witnessed the frown displayed on his face in the reflection. "I would be bitter and resentful. I would despise myself, as much as I despised you. Medical school is too important."

"More important than what we have."

"Equally as important, as what we have." She vehemently corrected his assumption that had been driven by his insecurities, which were so very transparent. "I will marry you one day, Jed." Abbey declared with conviction, "But, when that day comes, I won't be Mrs. Bartlet. I'll be Dr. Bartlet."


	5. Broken Defences

_"I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way. You, with all your un-dumb letters, would never write so elementary a phrase as that; perhaps you wouldn't even feel it. And yet I believe you'll be sensible of a little gap. But you'd clothe it in so exquisite a phrase that it would lose a little of its reality. Whereas with me it is quite stark: I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal. So this letter is just really a squeal of pain. It is incredible how essential to me you have become. I suppose you are accustomed to people saying these things. Damn you, spoilt creature; I shan't make you love me any the more by giving myself away like this —But oh my dear, I can't be clever and stand-offish with you: I love you too much for that. Too truly. You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don't love. I have brought it to a fine art. But you have broken down my defences. And I don't really resent it."_ — **Vita Sackville-West**

* * *

 **April 1965 - London, LSE Halls of Residence**

Jed hastily threw on the tan-coloured trench coat Abbey had sent him to survive the winter months in Britain and ventured out the student halls of residence. It was almost 5pm. 12pm in Boston and Monday was Abbey's half-day of classes.

He wrestled between the flood of Londoners that saturated the streets. The sky was a tar-black dome as rainclouds unleashed an April shower to be reckoned with and the pavements were streamed with puddles that Jed strained to avoid. He missed home. He was rarely, if ever, bothered by the cold but the constant rain had disheartened him. It was symbolic of his loneliness, halfway around the world, divided from the ones he loved. He had lost count of the times he decided to drop out and return to the states, pursue another doctorate at a school closer to Abbey but every time she talked him down. Five years wasn't forever, she assured him. Except, two already felt like a lifetime.

It wasn't all bad. The hiatus each semester allowed Jed to fly home and reunite with Abbey, and his family. She had even surprised him, when she flew over for his birthday celebration. Luckily, both he and Abbey had become keen flyers. He was always rather fond of long-haul travel. It was a chance to fly above the earth and free his mind. All that bothered him was the extreme exhaustion that inevitably consumed him. It required a couple of days, at least, to recuperate and adjust to the new time-zone.

Several blocks later, Jed reached the red telephone box that acted as his second home. He and Abbey talked on the phone three times a day; sunrise, sunset and once in between, for fair measure. The monthly phone bill racked up did little to deter him. He would spend his last dime - or, in this case, penny - to keep her on the line. A day without the musicality of her voice was absolute torture for Jed. "Hey, stud."

"How did you know it would be me?"

Abbey carefully stacked her books and discarded her purse to one side, as she kicked the front door of her dorm shut. "Because you always call at midday and I nearly trip over myself to be home from class in time for when you call." She sharply reminded him, still a little out of breath.

They instantly fell into conversation, the discussion wavered between their classes, hectic schedules and plans for the summer break. Truthfully, Jed didn't care what entered the conversation. He could listen to Abbey recite the alphabet until the day he died. " …anyway, Mille's convinced that Catholics have better sex lives because they teach us that pleasure is bad for you." Abbey cackled, as she recalled the late-hour conversation Millie had roped her into. "She also thinks you have a secret fetish for nuns."

Jed snickered, not one-hundred percent involved in the conversation. He shifted with discomfort at the very mention of their sex life, which was borderline non-existent. How much he yearned for Abbey only exacerbated the fear that overwhelmed him, when he pictured her in a classroom predominantly filled by the male population. There were five male students for every one female at Harvard Medical School and that kind of math left him very uneasy. While he considered Mille quirkier than most, he was relieved Abbey had befriended a fellow female student. "Maybe I do," Jed quipped, with the sense of humour Abbey had instilled in him.

Abbey howled in amusement, "Remind me next time I attend mass, I'll see if I can hire the outfit."

"I think my mother would have an opinion about that," he muttered.

"Mine too," Abbey simulated similar disapproval. "Anyway, she was in a better mood than usual. I think she's extra nervous about the next exam after that B+ she received last semester." In spite of Abbey's best effort to coax Millie into celebration, Jed's insensitive comment that Millie may as well have flunked it had cemented her foul mood. As a stellar A student, a B+ was simply unacceptable. "I promised I would help her study. I'm due to meet her in the library in a half-hour for revision." Aware that she had dominated the majority of the conversation, Abbey allowed the silence to creep in before she spoke. "Hey, I miss you."

Jed smiled, softly. He pictured her there with her hand twisted between the telephone cord. "I miss you, too."

The sound of sorrow suffused his tone and Abbey's lips twitched, "Only two more months left and you'll be back for summer break. I spoke to my parents yesterday and the coordinator has confirmed just about all the details, except the band. My mother already has wild ideas about a Grand Orchestra flown in from halfway across the world. I wonder who's more excited, my mother or yours." Despite Abbey's hope that mention of their nuptials would perk Jed's mood, his silence was an ominous reminder that he would have been far happier had they not postponed holy matrimony and she lived in London with him. "Listen, Jed, I realise the four-year engagement wasn't exactly what you had in mind -"

"I'm fine, Abbey. Just tired." He quickly reiterated the withered response he often used, whenever Abbey attempted to explain her refusal to marry him until she had accomplished medical school. He was hurt, and understandably so.

"Just think, by July, we'll be husband and wife." Abbey offered what little consolation she could, in the hopes that Jed's insecurities wouldn't swallow him whole. Sometimes, he questioned whether she had any real intention to marry him, after all.

"Yeah." Jed consented, apathetically.

Abbey frowned, at his sullen attitude. "Oh, I ran into your brother yesterday, too." Jed internally huffed. As a second-year student at Harvard Business School, Jonathan had more access to his fiancée than he did. It wasn't out of the ordinary that he and Abbey dined for lunch, or met one another at the weekend. He had even driven Abbey home to the farm in New Hampshire. Their friendship, while strictly platonic, exposed the possessive, inane jealous aspect of Jed's personality and he loathed Jonathan for it. "It would appear that he and Renée are an item no more." She commentated, in amusement. The playboy ways of the baby Bartlet brother was absurdly humorous for Abbey, especially his contrast to Jed, whose behaviour had always been so prim-and-proper toward women.

"She was never his type." Jed off-handedly replied.

Abbey smiled, "I don't think your brother has ever had a particular type. He doesn't strike me as particular at all, in fact. Anyway, he invited me to dinner next week to meet the replacement. I think her name's Nora. Apparently, she's a freshman here at Harvard."

Raindrops hailed relentlessly on the phone box and Jed subconsciously hunched his shoulders to protect himself from the elements. "Yeah." The line crackled and Jed peered out at the skies that darkened, and the ominous drum-rumble of thunder became more distinct. "Listen, Abbey, that hurricane on the North Atlantic looks like it's about to make an appearance." He hated to cut the conversation short.

Abbey collected the hint Jed subtly dropped. "Okay, well, we'll talk tomorrow then. Stay safe. I love you."

Jed's lips thinned, appreciatively. "I will. I love you, too." He replaced the phone on its hook and braced himself for the sharp wind and heavy rain that hailed down upon him, for his quick stretch back toward LSE. The downpour saturated him and mixed with the few tears he allowed to fall. His only solace was that, with each day that passed, he was another day closer to Abbey.


	6. The Beginning of Everything

_"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything."_ ― **F. Scott Fitzgerald**

* * *

 **August 1967 - Ireland, Ashford Castle**

True to her word, Abbey was awarded an M.D. from Harvard before she became Mrs. Jed Bartlet. Three months to the day of the commencement ceremony, she and Jed were married in a private ceremony at St. Peters Catholic Church. It was the church at which she had attended her first mass as a small child, and the sentiment lent well to the occasion. The subsequent formal reception was held at Abbey's family home, where over five-hundred family members and friends attended in celebration of the union. Needless to say, by the time Abbey's parents had waved off the final party-revellers, the twelve-bedroomed house looked as if an earthquake had struck; reminiscent of the first scenes featured in Vincent Minelli's 'Father of the Bride'.

"Abbey." Jed awakened, mildly disappointed his wife wasn't wrapped in his arms when he did. He sat up in the bed, in the midst of yawn, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes to discover Abbey by the bay window that overlooked the picturesque lake, which swamped the majestic hotel.

"That's _Mrs._ Bartlet to you," she playfully reprimanded him.

"Mrs. Bartlet," her husband repeated, elated. The haze of dawn illuminated her with a warm radiance and Jed hummed, appreciatively. He could wake up to the vision of her for an eternity. It astonished him that, as Abbey stood before him, she looked even more beautiful than she had done when she walked down the aisle. The ivory ensemble had been one of simple sophistication but she had looked like a movie star.

She played with the diamond that decorated her left hand, content. "It's so beautiful here." Abbey admired the peaceful property, with a shake of her head, incredulous. The world famous hotel would be their base for the 3-week honeymoon they embarked upon, curtesy of Jed's parents. It was more reminiscent of the palaces described in her childhood fairytales than real life. The 350-acre estate was a haven of tranquility, and with all its medieval renaissance decor, looked as if it had been conjured in the fantastically wild dream of a child.

"Room service."

Abbey immediately skipped across the room to answer the call, "I ordered breakfast already." Jed perched, awkwardly. With only the bedsheets to preserve his nudity, he remained perfectly still, while an expansive tray of continental breakfast items were rolled into the room. "Thank you, Al." Abbey noted the name pinned to his uniform and flashed a sweet smile to ensure his swift exit.

"You want to share our first breakfast as husband and wife in bed?" Jed double-checked, perfectly content with the idea, and Abbey shone him an expression indicative that it was exactly what she wanted. She plucked a strawberry from the array of fruit provided and sucked on it, seductively. His body instantly responded. Their first sexual encounter as newlyweds had been as exquisite as their first time, if not better. She bewitched him, left him entranced and completely at her mercy. He worshipped her like a Goddess, and theirs was a mutual devotion.

Abbey poured two flutes of the finest Dom Pérignon halfway stirred with freshly-squeezed orange juice that had been de-pulped. "Well, I have a surprise for you." Curiosity suspended Jed and he studied her with intent, while she delved into her suitcase and retrieved the small black box. She delivered the present to his lap, "Open it, Jed." He slowly sipped the Mimosa and followed her command, to discover a key attached to an adornment that declared 'New Home' on it.

He raised the key in the air and frowned, "I don't understand." It had been a mutual decision, between himself, his parents and Abbey that they would one day move onto the farm in New Hampshire. The property was to be inherited, father-to-son, and had been passed on for centuries. While the likes of New York and Boston were more Abbey's speed, she had happily consented to a life in New Hampshire.

She anticipated his bewilderment. She had originally planned to inform him on their travels to Ireland but they had succumbed to the exhaustion and slept for the majority of the journey across the Atlantic. "That key is to our apartment in London."

It wasn't her words but the simplicity of her tone that fazed Jed most. " _Our_ apartment?"

"Look, I know that we decided I would start my residency while you completed your final year at LSE but it wouldn't make much sense to be apart for the first year as a married couple, would it? It's only 12 months, so I decided to defer my residency and live with you in London."

"Abbey -"

His speechlessness pleased Abbey and she beamed at him. Jed reflected the smile. He loved the way her nose wrinkled when she smiled, almost as much as he loved the way her left eye narrowed to the point of closure whenever she was furious with him. It was those mannerisms that he had fallen in love with. "My parents helped out with the downpayment and the apartment is available for us to move in, as soon as we're ready."

Jed could hardly believe what he had heard. "But, what will you do in London?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find a way to keep busy. I could volunteer or look into research." There were various routes open to her and Abbey was confident she would make the year of deferral count, whether it be for personal or professional development. "Worst comes to worst, I could learn how to bake." She quipped, but was somewhat serious in her hope to become a little more domestic, since she was a married woman. "What's important is that we won't be apart. We can celebrate our first Christmas as married couple in London, countdown to the New Year in front of Big Ben. As soon as you have your doctorate, we can fly back and make the farm our home in New Hampshire."

The way in which she so perfectly described the future led Jed to realise that she had it in mind, for quite some time. He crawled across the bed and pulled her into his arms. "You're wonderful, you know that?" It was quite a sacrifice, on her part.

She blithely replied, "I do, but it's always nice to hear someone say it."

"I love you." His amorous kiss manoeuvred her back into the bed with him, their bodies clinched as they made love once more.


	7. Beyond the Newlywed Phase

_"She wondered whether all marriages started out this way. Whether this initial stress and adjustment, push and pull and tremors and shakes were common to all relationships. Maybe the fact that they had started off as a long-distance couple had shielded them from the pressures that normal couples in the same city went through. She wondered why all those relatives who had sat on her head asking her to get married had never mentioned this particular phase."_ ― **Shweta Ganesh Kumar** , **A Newlywed's Adventures in Married Land**

* * *

 **February 1968 - London, Chelsea House**

Jed furiously fumbled in his coat pocket for the set of keys that unlocked the entrance to the apartment block. He cursed under his breath more times than he cared to repent for until he finally reached the key collection. He bypassed the elevator and bound up the parallel set of stairs, in the hopes that he would be able to work off the sour mood his afternoon had dealt him. Thirty-five floors and beyond, the physical exertion had done very little to calm him. He had practically sprinted home and abided the intolerable rush-hour of the U.K. public transport system. A mass of heavy atmosphere had smothered him and his chest had clamped down, hard. He battled for a breath of fresh air in the stuffy London tube and quietly bemoaned the vertical position he was forced to remain in, until he finally reached the South Kensington stop.

As he neared the 43rd floor of the block, Jed became somewhat appeased by the comfort of home. It was a sight for sore eyes, as the British liked to declare. He burst into the one-bedroom apartment he and Abbey leased, and the vision that welcomed him offered considerable improvement to his mood. The fiery voice of Etta James and relentless base of her upbeat 1960 classic reverberated around the kitchenette, while his wife danced to the carnal tune dressed only in a crisp, white shirt.

"Welcome home, Mr. Bartlet."

The provocative picture of Abbey in his clothes delivered Jed to hedonistic bliss. He tossed his briefcase aside and accelerated his wife into the nearest wall. His mouth devoured hers with a ruthlessness like never before and Abbey writhed in what could only be described as a pleasurable kind of pain. Jed finally released the kiss but his body still heaved adjacent to hers. His physical tension was palpable and Abbey revelled in the shadow of his ferocious outburst. There was a wildness about his temper that electrified her. Her prayers were answered, when Jed forcefully hauled her in the direction of their bedroom and continued to exercise every one of his demons.

Nearly an hour later, Jed receded to his side of the bed and reached for the pack of Marlboro on the bedside table. Abbey allowed him several, peaceful puffs of the smoke before she shuffled out of the bed and slipped into an informal, black pantsuit she had worn earlier that afternoon. She collected Jed's newly crumpled, white shirt he had ravenously ripped from her body. It was certainly the most predatory her husband had been. "Do you want to talk about what has you so hot under the collar?"

Jed exhaled, heavily. Clearly, Abbey was the only one impressed with her wisecrack. His acidic disposition threatened to rebound and he stubbed out the butt-end, only to reach for a second. The day had been a disaster and potentially the end of his academic success as a scholar in the economic field. "Parsons read my paper."

"The one on far east trade barriers?" Abbey clarified, as she returned to the kitchen.

"Yeah." At the time he had written it, Jed had been determined to dispense a critical standpoint on the issue that was heavily debated. It wasn't remotely reflective of the other papers he had written in pursuit of his doctorate at the school. In fact, Abbey's presence in London had provided Jed with a burst of motivation for some of the best research he had ever produced. Except, his professors weren't quite as impressed. They felt Jed had taken a stride too far and all but denounced his work.

"What, he didn't like it?" She quizzed, as she retrieved the meatloaf of questionable edibility from the oven.

Jed redressed himself into his favoured navy Notre Dame sweatshirt and comfortable pants to match, then sombrely entered the mainstay of the apartment that overlooked the River Thames and metropolitan horizon of the capital. "He wants me dismissed from the school, effective immediately." Downcast at the prospect of five wasted years, Jed slumped onto the sofa and reaped little consolation from the warmth of tobacco in his chest. "He thinks the concept of the paper could harm the school's reputation."

Abbey's lips curled, in contemplation. She hadn't read the paper personally but she had been a first-hand witness to his tireless effort, the hours he had submitted to complete a notion he was truly proud of. "Surely, he can't have you thrown out because he doesn't like what you've written." He rolled his shoulders, in a show of indifference but it was a transparent act. "Talk to the dean about it."

"It's useless, Abbey. Parsons wants me thrown out. We may as well catch the next red-eye to JFK."

"Don't be so melodramatic, Jed. One professor cannot have you dismissed from a school you've attended for five years over one lousy paper." She overlooked the odd possibility that Jed would be disqualified from the doctorate qualification he had worked so hard for and focused on what was positive. "Besides, you only have a few months left. Before you know it, you and I will be back home. Dr. and Dr. Bartlet," she wandered over to her husband, hands on his shoulders to relieve what tension remained. When she kissed him, Abbey whispered, "And you know what a turn-on that is for me." The embrace did little to heal his sullen outlook and Abbey licked her bottom lip, to rid the flavour of nicotine he had transferred. "That, on the other hand, is a turn off." She removed the addictive tool from his hand. It wasn't the first time she had chewed him out for it.

While she returned her attention to the oven, Jed noticed for the first time the mess she had created in the kitchen. He perched himself on one of the bar stools near the kitchen island and inspected the dish she had retrieved. "You cooked."

Abbey scowled, "Don't look so surprised." The unhealthy habits Jed had developed with food was a major concern for Abbey. She wasn't sure he had enjoyed one proper meal, while he lived the life of a bachelor in London. His diet was a mixture of local take-out, and peanut butter-jelly sandwiches. "I didn't have any plans today, so I decided to try out a meatloaf recipe." She removed the oven protector from her hand and frowned, disillusioned with the end result. The oh-so-simple recipe had been much more strenuous than Abbey anticipated.

"I don't have an appetite."

"Jed," Abbey wailed. He snatched a chilled bottle of Guinness and sloped off into the en-suite. She softly exhaled, at the slam of the door and she overheard the blast of the shower between the thin wall. She almost tempted herself to join him, but decided instead to allow him the time to cool off. It was an odd idiosyncrasy of his that Abbey had discovered. In one moment, he needed her; quicker than the next, he shut her out. It was the only complaint she could make as Mrs. Jed Bartlet, and she suspected it was much to do with the way he was raised. As much as she adored her in-laws, especially Jed's mother, their family of four was an odd equation. Even after six months, Abbey wasn't entirely sure of the family she had married into.

By the time Jed reappeared, Abbey had dumped the unwanted meatloaf in the trash can. His demure mood had transferred over to her, and she was sat on the sofa, her knees curled up to her chest. "I'm sorry, Abbey."

His hair was still damp and only a towel was wrapped around his waist. "It's okay." She had the resilience to weather his temper.

"I was just so damn upset, I -" Jed stood awkwardly behind her.

"I understand." Abbey offered a morsel of comfort. How passionate her husband was and how driven his ambition made him was what sparked a physical attraction into an emotional one. "But you need to understand, we're a team. We're on the same side, Jed. When you succeed, so do I and vice versa." He nodded his head and marvelled at her wisdom. She was his intellectual equal, his partner in every sense of the word. With her by his side, there was very little Jed didn't think he could achieve. If only one of them had an ounce of culinary skill, they could rule the world.


	8. Big Sister, Little Sister

_"That's the best thing about little sisters: They spend so much time wishing they were elder sisters that in the end they're far wiser than the elder ones could ever be."_ ― **Gemma Burgess**

* * *

 **August 1968 - New Hampshire, Bartlet Townhouse**

By the time Jed and Abbey returned home across the Atlantic, their family of two was destined to become three.

In fact, in the space of 365 days, their lives had advanced dramatically; the very paper that had almost caused Jed to be dismissed from LSE, was exactly why Dartmouth University had been intent to hire him; he achieved his doctorate and was credited for his innovative research; and they had relinquished their London apartment, in favour of a quaint, three-bedroom Manchester townhouse. It had been a whirlwind experience.

Abbey applied the final touch - an array of dutch tulips, delicately placed on the windowsill - to the beautifully decorated nursery and patted her five month old bump in satisfaction with her work. Subtle hints of fire coral complimented the all-white bedroom and the crib Jed's brother had sculpted by hand was the centre-piece of the furnished room. A musical mobile swayed slowly above; it was one of the many purchases Abbey's mother had made with abandon.

"I'm back," the front door clicked shut, followed by the plummy voice of her sister and hyperactive footsteps that bound up the stairs. "They only had the chicken on rye with mustard left." Linda appeared in the doorway of the nursery - her tiny waist, curtained by a tousled blonde mane - and dumped the lunch she had purposely walked across town for the second she saw that Abbey's eyes had watered. "Abs, what's up?" There was no physical injury visible and Linda assured herself that no harm had come to Abbey or her unborn niece in her thirty-minute absence. Praise the Lord, because her brother-in-law would have her head, if that hadn't been the case. She ushered Abbey into the armchair side the overfilled bookshelf and kneeled at her feet, "Abbey, what's the matter?."

Abbey rolled her eyes, "It's stupid."

Linda humorously dismissed her sisters attempt to evade the conversation, "I find that hard to believe." She had overcome the harsh reality that Abbey would always be the more academic of the two, the same way Abbey had accepted Linda was the more desirable one.

"Millie called from New York." Linda rolled her eyes, this time around, and mentally bemoaned how insensitive Abbey's best friend could be.

"…and it made you wonder what life would be like if that were you." Linda predicted, her sister an all-too-open book. In spite of the fact that they were as different as chalk and cheese, the sisters were the closest of confidantes. It was an odd occurrence for three-year old Abbey, when the newborn Linda appeared and proceeded to defy every rule her older sister set. If Abbey went left, she could be confident that Linda would do the exact opposite. Yet, in the face of adversity, Linda had always been the very backbone of support. "Have you talked to Jed?"

"He wouldn't understand." Those were three words Abbey never expected to leave her lips, especially if the 'he' was her husband. She hadn't foreseen that she would become that kind of wife. Neither had Linda, and her expression said as much. "God…" Abbey blasted, exasperated with her own self and the doubts that plagued her mind. "I hate that I said that."

"Listen, Abs, I am no psychoanalyst but I say it's okay. I mean, you can plan your life out until the day you die but fate will always intervene. When it doesn't work out the way you hoped, you can daydream and be envious of others. Everybody has a touch of the green-eyed monster every now and then," Linda pinched Abbey's upper-arm and the sisters shared a wistful smile.

Abbey's smile faded quickly, and she tilted her head, ashamed. "Sometimes, it just seems like I am the only one who has to make the sacrifice." That was what irked her most, that it was her forced to press pause on her future while Jed's career in economics could flourish, whether he and Abbey had one child or twelve. Historically, women were born to produce and raise their children. Period. Little else mattered, least of all the opportunity to advance in any kind of profession, but the difficulties women faced in that era existed no more and Abbey was lumbered with a whole other reality; it was her career or her child. "Natural consequences, dad called it." Abbey quoted their father's response, when she had subtly solicited his advice on the matter in the most roundabout of ways. "He recited the details of his childhood."

Linda's eyes flashed upward, in playful horror at the idea, and mimicked almost word-for-word what their father had said. "Grandmother raised five boys by herself. She always put food on the table, even if it meant she didn't eat. She worked seven days a week, relinquished her dreams of the ballet, and cast aside any talent to provide for her family."

The interpretation of their father was funny, nevertheless, Abbey swallowed the lump in her throat. Her father had - quite literally - hit the nail on the head. His mother had put family above ambition; he expected her to do just the same. It wasn't that their father didn't support Abbey and her ambitions, but he didn't understand why Abbey couldn't put her career into another hiatus for the first few years of her child's life. Except, for the second time since she had become Mrs. Bartlet, her medical career had been placed on the back-burner; the arrival of baby Bartlet would result in another year of deferral for her medical residency in Boston. Further postponement, after the year she spent in London, where she had all but shunned medicine did not sit well with Abbey one bit. "Am I selfish?"

Sympathetic to Abbey's weariness, Linda exhaled softly and squeezed Abbey's hands in hers for effect. "Abbey, you are the least selfish person I have ever known in my lifetime. What you are, however, is one of the most sleep-deprived." Abbey nodded her head, in consent. Her delicate condition had rendered her the perpetual insomniac with stomach ache. While, ordinarily, her body ran on very little sleep, her mind had been blown into overdrive and rendered Abbey exhausted. On the one hand, she was a married woman and motherhood was the next natural step forward. Yet, she was filled with a sense of dread, and Linda sensed that her fear remained. "At 23, most women are married, with children or the first on the way and, at the very least, an aspiration for the future. Meanwhile, I study Art History, which happens to be the fourth time I switched my major but that is irrelevant. Why?" Linda raised an eyebrow, "Because I refuse to conform to societal norms, I rebel from authority exactly the way you showed me to," she dramatically answered the very question she posed, and Abbey nearly doubled over with laughter. "Abbey," her sister refocused, more serious this time around. "Promise me that you will talk to Jed. He deserves to know how you really feel."

"I promise." It was one of the few promises Abbey made to her sister that she had absolutely no intention to keep.


	9. The Domino Effect

" _A complete stranger has the capacity to alter the life of another irrevocably. This domino effect has the capacity to change the course of an entire world. That is what life is; a chain reaction of individuals colliding with others and influencing their lives without realizing it. A decision that seems miniscule to you, may be monumental to the fate of the world._ "― **J.D. Stroube** , **Caged by Damnation**

* * *

 **December 1968 - New Hampshire, Dartmouth University**

Leo McGarry reclined into the tan leather chair and pointedly fixed his eyes upon Professor Bartlet. They were the only two patrons to inhabit the rustic coffee house on campus and had been rooted in the same seats for hours, determined to outdo the other in debate. He was conscious of the pent-up frustration Jed suffered, in his failed efforts to convince Leo of his side.

"No, no, no… Leo." Jed leaned forward, his hands clenched, "Monetary policy produces lower rates of unemployment and it ensures economic stability. John Maynard Keynes -"

"All due respect, Dr. Bartlet, Keynes was a quack."

Horrified by the notion, Jed's eyes widened and his voice almost shook the walls of the coffee house. "Keynes' theory of macroeconomics was revolutionary." The man had been one of his heroes, who Jed often looked to for inspiration in pursuit of his own doctorate, and had been a major influence for the book that was still under construction. "State intervention, and the use of monetary policy, is the only way to moderate the adverse effects of any economic downfall."

Leo shook his head, resolute. "Monetary policy's a myth. Fiscal policy, on the other hand…" Five hours, if not more, had passed since the open-to-all lecture where they were introduced had concluded. As a law student, Leo had attended to enhance his philosophy of economics and the Dartmouth professor had been the highlight of the debate panel. Sat studiously at the back of the classroom, silent for the majority of academic discussion, Leo eventually voiced his opposition to the theory Jed endorsed. His own claim that fiscal policy, instead, could bolster the economy and his firm support of Milton Friedman had transported them into a heated, intellectual debate.

"Well, if that's the way you really feel…" Jed finally relented, disappointed. He could have continued, for hours, in an attempt to have Leo concede at least an inch but it appeared to be a fruitless endeavour for him.

The defeat in his eyes was evident, and Leo basked in the victorious moment. In spite of the contrast in their mindset, Leo liked the professor he had listened to. Jed Bartlet was one of those instantly likeable people. While he didn't concur with what Jed proposed, he was drawn in by the passion with which he addressed the students and absorbed their attention. Better yet, Jed knew when to cut his losses. "Truthfully, economics isn't where my interest really lies but one of the students I met today recommended your talk."

Jed nodded, suddenly aware of the time and prepared to make his excuses. "So, what course here at Dartmouth peaked your interest?" It was open-week all over the campus and prospective students from far and wide across the country were in attendance.

"Government." Leo replied, to little surprise. "Honestly, I'm all but enrolled at Michigan Law School next September but my wife, Jenny, asked me to look into Dartmouth. She has family on the East Coast. She's wanted to be closer to them since Mallory was born. That's my kid." Leo answered the question that didn't really need to be asked. He reached into his wallet and produced the picture of himself and Mallory, the day she was baptised in a local church. Jed kindly admired the baby, with a full head of auburn curls to rival Shirley Temple.

"She's a beauty." Jed wanted to question Leo on fatherhood, and the heavy responsibility of guiding a child into the world, but the patriarchal uniform Leo wore proudly to the ceremony in the picture distracted him. "You were in the Air Force?"

"Yes, sir." Leo stoically declared, "Flew the F-105's for the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing in '66."

His respect for Leo quadrupled, and Jed stretched out his hand, "Thank you for your service." Leo reluctantly accepted it, and Jed smiled. "Listen, I hope you decide to study here at Dartmouth, Leo. We always welcome new students with sharp minds like yours."

"Thank you."

"Believe me when I say, I would love to stick around for a couple more hours and debate the role of the Fed with you some more but I have a Mrs. Bartlet at home and a slow drive home in this weather." Jed motioned to the snowfall outside, as he explained his scramble to depart the coffee house, and said a silent prayer that Abbey wouldn't be furious he returned home late. "But, if you should ever want to continue this discussion, or have any questions about the campus, please call me." He offered a quickly scribbled number to Leo, who was impressed Jed had offered his personal line instead of a standard office one, before he hastily slipped on his trench coat and started out the door with Leo immediately behind.

"I certainly will," Leo clambered to maintain Jed's pace, baffled by the haphazard way the professor had thrown his coat over his shoulders. "Thank you for your time." They eventually reached Jed's yellow Chevrolet Camaro in the staff car park, after further morsels of conversation and Jed shoved his briefcase into the backseat. "Good to meet you, Professor Bartlet."

"Likewise, but please call me Jed."

The car revved and Jed sped away from the campus, anxious to return home. After a 75-minute drive back to Manchester, he finally reached home but Leo consumed his mind the entire way. There were very few people that Jed could have an adult debate with and feel intellectually stimulated by, but Leo McGarry was one of them. If Leo didn't decide to study at Dartmouth, Jed hoped he would, at least, remain in contact. As Aretha Franklin's hit 'I Say A Little Prayer For You' played on the radio, Jed reluctantly stopped the car and leapt out of the driver seat. By the time he stepped in the doorway, Abbey had waddled slowly to welcome him back, "You're home late."

Remorse clouded his expression, and he whipped her into his arms, "I was held up. I didn't mean to worry you."

"We were both worried." Her hands stroked the seven-month old baby bump that divided their bodies.

Jed knelt down and kissed her blossomed stomach, "Sorry, babe. Daddy's home." Abbey rolled her eyes, with a small chuckle. He loved the familial term of endearment and any excuse to call himself by it. The Bartlet's quickly resettled into the kitchen, where the smell of home-cooked food embraced Jed, and he marvelled at the fact that Abbey had become a culinary whiz. "I met someone in my open lecture today." Abbey started to dish up the home-made beef stew she had prepared and Jed sat down at the readily decorated table. "His name was Leo McGarry. He was a very impressive man." His wife listened attentively, while Jed recalled the conversation he and Leo had shared. "He served in Vietnam a few years previously." The way Leo held his interest captivated Jed. He was, for the most part, an extremely private individual. He didn't actively socialise, even with his fellows at Dartmouth, but it was obvious that Leo was different… _special._

"What was that like?" Abbey raised an eyebrow, a vehement protestor of the American presence in Vietnam.

"He didn't say." Jed chastised himself, as he suddenly realised he hadn't bothered to ask. Perhaps he would have done, but the matter seemed to be such a personal one. He fell silent, as his mind wandered into a wonder-world of what Leo's experience must have been. Finally, he snapped back into the present. "How was your day, my love?"

"Good," Abbey replied, a little too enthusiastically. "Jam-packed, in fact. I popped to the farmers market earlier and then I had a nap." She informed him, her tone ironic, as if her day had been chock-full of activities. He chuckled. She had appeared to truly embrace motherhood, to the point that Jed believed she had always been destined for it. Little did he realise, Abbey wasn't so sure. Before she could even contemplate a confession of as much, the phone disrupted conversation and she answered, her eyes ablaze with surprise, as she offered the receiver to her husband, "Jed, it's Leo McGarry… for you."


	10. What Only Your Husband Knows

_"No one except your husband knows of the cautiousness at the heart of your life. Your adulthood has been a progressive retreat from curiosity and wonder, an endless series of delays and procrastinations. You wanted to be so much, once, but life kept on getting in the way... You settled."_ ― **Nikki Gemmell** , **The Bride Stripped Bare**

* * *

 **March 1969 - New Hampshire, Bartlet Townhouse**

"Oh, pretty baby, don't let me down, I pray. Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay. Let me love you, baby, let me love you…"

The soft hum of her husband welcomed Abbey upon her return home. With her key in the door, she listened to him serenade Elizabeth, while he adjusted her white fleece sleep-suit. Fatherhood was an instinctive trait for Jed, in spite of the _unconventional_ example his own father had set for him. Fortunately, Jed strived to oppose the precedent his father had presented.

The front door clicked shut and he noted her presence. "Hey, you're back." His wife softly hummed and received the 3-week old baby from his hold. "I didn't expect you home for at least another hour yet." Jed visibly checked his watch, "How was dinner?"

Abbey scowled, fully conscious of his playful nature. "I couldn't possibly comment… I didn't stay beyond the first course." She sourly admitted. She should have known her attachment to Elizabeth was too potent for her to abandon her baby at home, even for a few hours. Before she had even sped out of the drive, she missed her. It had only been at Millie's relentless plea that Abbey attended the ladies banquet, a formal bachelorette celebration that Abbey could not be absent from, since she was the maid of honour for the bride-to-be. Abbey held Elizabeth firmly to her chest, "I missed her too much." Jed smiled, heart-warmed by her affection for their first-born child. Reluctantly, Abbey returned the tired baby to her cot and ensured the baby monitor was turned on, before she followed Jed into their master bedroom. "Millie must be furious with me." Abbey solemnly perched at the foot of the double bed. She had darted from the restaurant, with barely more than two words of explanation for her sudden departure. At least, she had attempted to devour the calamari appetiser before her dash home. She had missed seafood, in the nine months she had carried Elizabeth. "I was supposed to toast the bride." After the dedication Millie had shown as her own maid of honour, Abbey was happy to return the favour but the inevitable separation from Elizabeth was unbearable.

Jed chuckled, as he folded his arms across his chest. Exhaustion and hormones had done one hell of a number on his wife. Between the two of them, he was more likely to act on impulse but Abbey had suffered from several bouts of irrational attitudes and behaviours in the course of motherhood. It was an enjoyable switch-up, but a temporary one, at most. "Abbey, it's okay." Her lips pushed forward, in the form of a childish pout. She hated the idea that she was destined to become one of those mothers who smothered their child from birth. Abbey mentally noted that she would have to personally call Millie and explain herself. "Millie will understand."

"I hope so," Abbey silently prayed. In an effort to redirect the conversation, she referred to the final chapter of the book Jed had in construction. "Did you finish your chapter?" The book was his latest academic venture into the world of economics.

"No." Her husband shook his head, disappointed.

"You have plenty of time to finish it." She promised him, wary not to add to the pressure of the publication deadline that loomed ahead. "Maybe you need a little distraction," Abbey caressed his cheek with her hand, her lips explored his with excitement. The frequency of their sexual relations had naturally decreased, after Abbey hit the five-month mark. Once Elizabeth was born, Jed was hesitant to initiate any physical contact until Abbey was readily inclined. The moment became more heated, as Abbey stretched below his belt and stroked him. Jed softly moaned, at the touch she had perfected, and fondled one breast. It had almost doubled in size, in the course of motherhood. As if on cue, Elizabeth started to whine. "She sure knows how to pick her moment." Abbey rolled her eyes, and abandoned Jed's loosened belt to tend to the child. "Hello, baby," she reentered the nursery and sat on the wooden rock-a-bye chair her father-in-law had personally fashioned. She held Elizabeth to her chest, in order to breast-feed beneath the shirt Jed had pre-unbuttoned, and smoothed the fine hairs on top of her head.

Once Elizabeth was well-fed and resettled into her cot, Abbey returned to the nearby master bedroom, where her husband lay in wait. "She missed you, too." Jed declared, but his comment didn't warrant a reaction.

"She should sleep for a couple hours," Abbey exhaled. How she itched for the time when the baby would adapt to a routine and sleep until for the morn. "Which means we have all the time in the world."

"I like the way you think, but I'm pretty tired, and I have plenty of prep to do for Monday's lectures."

"It's only 9pm." She objected, but her husband appeared unmoved. "Jed?" He hummed, in response, as he busied himself in the en-suite in preparation for sleep. His lack of attention left Abbey disappointed that her husband shunned any hope of continuation after Elizabeth's interruption. She stripped off and momentarily paused, in the hopes he would find her irresistible but spied herself in the mirror and quickly slipped on the silk pyjamas her mother had purchased. Apparently, it was hopeless to wear risqué clothes in bed after the labour of a child, particularly the first. "Jed, do you still find me attractive?"

He frowned, his attention now all hers, "Abbey, of course I do."

Disbelief shaped her features, "You barely touch me anymore." Jed appeared from the en-suite, toothbrush in hand and a circle of toothpaste painted around his lips. She sensed him visibly search his mind for an escape route, and it only infuriated her more. "You know, when I had Elizabeth, I was under the impression that I would have to sacrifice my love of medicine, not our sex life."

The bite of her remark left Jed perplexed, like a man cast out to sea. He retreated, washed his face clean and reappeared with a towel to dry his face. "Abbey, you don't have to make any sacrifices -" She immediately attempted to back-track her comment, as she realised how irrational she must have sounded, but her throat clamped up. "Your career is equally as important as mine, and I apologise if I have ever given you the impression that the opposite is true."

His sincerity almost broke her heart. "God, Jed, you didn't." She enclosed her face in her hands and resisted the temptation to scream. "Before Elizabeth was born, I wasn't sure I wanted to be a parent. I wasn't sure I would know how to -" Abbey frowned, "Compromise. I was worried I would lose myself, that all my hard work would count for naught. You would be the successful one and I would be the -" she stopped short of the word 'failure'. "Trophy wife."

Jed stretched his arm behind her shoulders, "Abbey, you're a wonderful wife and mother and soon, you'll be a wonderful doctor, too."

"You mean, you don't expect me to _settle_?"

"I _expect_ you to become the greatest physician the world has ever seen." He chuckled, half-serious, and Abbey let the relief wash over her at his words of reassurance. "If anyone's destined to be the trophy in this relationship, it's me."


End file.
